In 1999 Kevin Ashton gave the idea of the internet of things IOT that had the potential of not only connecting people but the objects around them.
The world didn’t appraise his picture and thought of it as science fiction. But the growth potential of IOT has made an enormous paradigm shift.
Once considered a sci-fi is now dominating globally in transferring information.
IoT devices will scale the sky-rocketed selling records between 2020 and 2030. It is estimated that in 2030 the IoT devices will be 25.4 billion!!. A surprising three times increment of 8.74 billion in 2020.
The IoT consumption in different consumer markets and industry verticals is an applauding 60% share of IoT devices in the consumers market.
The Internet of Things holds great potential in the business industry. Business owners are looking for an autonomous solution in handling their day-to-day company tasks.
One of the great examples of IoT helping the corporate owners is IOT driven smart metering.
How IoT Communication Protocols are modifying Smart Metering: What’s the role of LTE CAT 1?
What is Smart Metering?
How has IoT Boosted the Functionality of Smart Meters?
Why Cellular IOT is Best for IOT Applications? Cellular IOT for Intelligent Metering
4G LTE CAT 1 Gateway: A Favored Driving Force of Cellular IoT
What is LTE CAT 1 Gateway?
Where does LTE Fail?
Eclipse Role in Providing IoT Protocols for Smart Metering
Conclusion
What is Smart Metering?
Smart metering modernizes your conventional meters to record readings for different utilities, including electric, water, and monthly gas calculations.
Smart meters are much advanced than traditional ones. They are equipped with a digital screen to have clear visuals.
They give ease of managing utilities. A smart meter saves you from calculating the estimated cost of your bills. All of your information is in front of you in a digital panel.
Smart meters have made a transition at the consumer and supplier level. It is a cost-effective option for service providers.
Furthermore, there was a need to check the meter reading quarterly or monthly in the past.
Smart meters have substituted this act by giving a digital insight into the meter readings in the service provider’s control panel, thus significantly reducing the cost of deploying meter checkers.
Smart meters have opened the gates of different opportunities and have made life easier on a great level. Providing business ease is only one aspect of this technology.
With multiple applications, smart metering technology has upgraded water tracking technology.
Moreover, unlike conventional meters, smart meters for utility bills do not need to be put outside your house; you can plant one anywhere inside the house.
Smart metering also delivers an insight into different kinds of household information in smart cities. The utility information is processed, and a report is made to analyze which cities require more energy and which don’t.
How has IOT boosted the functionality of smart meters?
The internet of things provides a linked infrastructure of all smart meters deployed. Smart metering is the primary use of IOT applications.
IOT embedded smart meters leverage calculate cost and usage of electricity, water or gas accurately, efficiently, and most importantly remotely.
IOT devices connect to various communication protocols like Bluetooth, Ethernet, Wi-Fi etc. options, but cellular IOT is the most secure wireless communication protocol for several reasons.
Why is Cellular IOT Best for IOT applications? Cellular IOT for Intelligent Metering
Cellular networks are progressing day by day. The operators took their first step by introducing 2G technology and it kept on advancing.
Today we have different network technologies, including 3G, 4G, and 5G. Most of the modern or smart cities around the globe are switching to a 5G network for a much efficient cellular IoT; while it didn’t cut off the 3G and 4G supply, they are more efficient in developing countries.
Cellular connectivity during its inception was quite expensive, but the inventions of technologies like LTE-M and NB-IoT provided a low power and low data rate for IoT applications.
The LTE-M wireless protocol came after the 4G LTE CAT 1 gateway. Still, the 4G LTE CAT 1 gateway started gaining more and more popularity as the demand for more power in IOT applications escalated.
The 4G LTE CAT 1 terminal offers ten megabits per second to tackle the medium-demanding IoT tasks.
Advantages of Cellular IOT
Best Security
Security is the top concern for internet users, and it is a privilege for cellular IoT. Cellular connectivity ensures maximum security.
Wi-fi planted publicly or privately is connected by several users, which puts your security at risk. If one of the connected people in Wi-fi has some malfunctions with his connectivity or develops a virus in the phone, it’s a warning sign for your security!
Furthermore, this public and private wi-fi can be easily encrypted, thus providing additional risks to your data.
Cellular IOT provides an excellent solution for your safety. Cellular connectivity is made through sim careers or individual devices. It’s a one to one connectivity, so your data is at the safest level compared to Wi-fi.
Support low and high bandwidth
The cellular IoT also supports low and high bandwidth. This makes it versatile over several IoT applications. It regulates the requirements of the internet for different IoT applications.
If a device requires a low internet speed, you can go with the low bandwidth IoT applications. Similarly, for advanced and heavy applications that require high internet speeds, you can select the high bandwidth IoT applications.
Cellular IOT simplifies the global deployment
Cellular IoT simplifies the global deployment. The excellent connectivity coverage of the cellular IOT enables a global connectivity via different grid stations. You don’t have to deploy a separate infrastructure for every cellular IOT device.
An advent of excellent coverage
Cellular IoT has significant advantages. It is a compelling medium to deliver excellent connectivity.
Compared to Wi-fi and Bluetooth, the cellular connectivity is WAN (wide area network). For Wi-fi and Bluetooth, the operating IoT device must be within the range prescribed by the modem or Bluetooth device.
Contrary to this, cellular connecting delivers long and strong connections that makes it a viable option globally.
Performs well in mobile, indoors and outdoors IOT applications
Cellular IoT is the number one choice for mobile, indoor and outdoor applications. The Wi-fi technology is lagging! behind the doors of advancement.
Mobile phones are now dependent on cellular IoT, and the development of 5G has provided it another boost. 5G connectivity has brought the IoT applications close with excellent connectivity.
Most indoor and outdoor applications, including smart metering and water analysis meters, use cellular IOT to advance their performance experiences.
Whether its auto parking sensors inside the car or parking machines on the road, the cellular IoT has provided optimum performance for these IoT applications.
4G LTE CAT 1 Gateway: A Favored Driving Force of Cellular IOT
What is the LTE CAT 1 Gateway?
2G and 3G are on the verge of collapse, but does that mean the IoT communication will too?
Evolution also hits the wireless communication protocols. With the increase in modern IoT devices, the requirements to deliver seaming and reliable internet has scaled up. Unfortunately, the old technologies like 2G and 3G are compromising to see themselves with the latest technology.
So a much advanced and reliable protocol was required for telecommunication devices. And here is when LTE comes into the picture.
The long-term evolution (LTE) is an advanced IOT wireless communication protocol that holds the potential to deliver incredible bandwidth.
LTE provides a paced up speed and better reliability than its ancestors.
Where does LTE Fail?
LTE provides a fast-speed connection. However, most IoT applications, including smart metering and mobile devices, don’t require high speeds as they transfer the data in small bits requiring low latency.
The 3GPP, however, reacted quickly to this feedback and introduced the LTE first category or the LTE CAT 1 Gateway.
Eclipse LTE CAT 1 Gateway or 4G LTE is an advanced machine-to-machine M2M communication protocol for internet applications.
Eclipse LTE CAT 1 offers a reliable connection that is cost-effective and best for that application with a low latency rate.
Eclipse LTE CAT 1 Terminal offers 10 Mbps for downlinking and 5 Mbps for uplinking. This makes it operatable for various M2M applications.
Eclipse LTE CAT 1 Gateway is also less complex than the LTE Cat.0, which gives it an edge in reducing the infrastructure cost.
Eclipse 4G gateway or 4G terminal has extended idles and sleep modes, ultimately consuming less power.
Furthermore, Eclipse LTE CAT 1 Gateway is quite versatile. It can be connected globally to other LTE servers for a convenient and efficient connection.
Eclipse LTE CAT 1 Gateway is an all-in-one solution as the 4G terminal offers reliable, better, protected, and brilliant coverage while cutting down on the cost of operations.
LTE CAT 1 is capable of getting optimum traffic. It also enables roaming and voice-over LTE.
LTE CAT 4 is the advanced technology designed to handle high-speed communication tasks.
The data transmission rate and prices of LTE CAT 4 are higher than LTE CAT 1. The LTE CAT 4 has a downlinking ability of 150 Mbps and an uplinking rate of 50 Mbps.
That makes it suitable for high-end IoT applications.
The LTE CAT 4 has application in
- Asset tracking
- Telematics
- Agricultural department
- Food and drinking industries
- CCTV for surveillance
- Environmental monitoring
- Smart cities
- Video recording
- Alarm notification system
- APR
LTE CAT 1 is perfect for low latency IoT verticals. The uplinking and downlinking rate of LTE CAT 1 is much lesser than LTE 4, which makes it a cost-effective option for IoT users.
Furthermore, LTE CAT 1 transfers data at a medium rate which may be a problem if you require video surveillance, so you have to be attentive when buying an LTE modem.
The LTE CAT 1 has applications in
- Payment Systems
- Smart Metering
- Electricity Utilities
- Gas Utilities
- Water Utilities
- Healthcare
- Gaming Machines
- ATMs
- And car parking payment machines
What modem to choose between LTE CAT 1 and LTE CAT 4
The decision between buying an LTE CAT 4 modem or an LTE CAT 1 modem depends on usability. Both are great interim of durability and efficient connection, but they fall back in their uses.
The LTE Category 4 modem should be used in high-speed demanding IOT applications, for instance, CCTV.
The CCTV requires remote monitoring to visualize the camera reached in vicinity. Using a CAT 1 modem with a comparatively low transmission rate will hinder your surveillance. CAT 4 modem with an increased data transmission rate will work fine here.
Similarly, you should not install a CAT 4 modem in the ATMs. The requirement for data transmission and connectivity is much smaller. LTE CAT 1 modems is best to handle a transmission.
ECLIPSE Role in Providing IOT Protocols for Smart Metering
Eclipse is one of the leading smart metering solution providers. Eclipse plays its role in providing machine-to-machine wireless and non-wireless terminals for the IoT market.
Eclipse specializes in IOT hardware and firmware, telemetric energy management, observer monitoring system and edge computing.
Eclipse produces and provides its customer with versatile modems to support every consumer’s needs.
The modems we provide at Eclipse are
Battery Powered IP68 CAT M1 Gateway
Battery Powered IP68 M-Bus NB-IoT Gateway
M-Bus Cat 1 Linux Data Concentrator
DLMS COSEM Cat 4 Linux Data Concentrator
And many more.
Eclipse provides quality enhanced, innovative technology and on-time product delivery.
Conclusion
Smart Metering is among the top application of IOT. With day-by-day progression, more innovative technology is required to cope with the requirements.
The conventional 2G and 3G are now phasing out, and the LTE wireless communication protocol is replacing it by providing many added benefits.
Especially the LTE CAT 1 is the primary wireless protocol in smart metering for efficient and fast connectivity.